Friday, 28 March 2014

March is coming to the end and this month my baking project with Bake King features some quick and easy Asian tea snacks such as Pumpkin Red Bean Balls and Gula Melaka Steamed Cake with Sweet Potato. Pumpkin Red Bean Balls has a very soft texture when bite and it pairs well with the sweet red bean paste which makes it sort of like the Mochi (Japanese rice cake made of mochigome).

Friday, 13 January 2012

It's Happy Call Pan(HCP) recipes again! As I have mentioned before this is an "IN" kitchen gadget which is it one of the hot discussion topic in forum and Facebook. With it's quick and easy pressure cooking method, this pan has won the hearts of many people especially homemakers who aim to cook healthier dishes for the family.

In this post I would be sharing another 3 recipes using this HCP to Bake Sweet Potato, cook Sizzling Tofu and our favourite Claypot Rice (without using claypot).

Friday, 17 June 2011

I am sure most of us are familiar with the pandan chiffon cake that is available at most bakery stalls. Here with a twist from the previous steamed cake that I have made, I decided to make some Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potatoes. And to make these steamed cakes more fragrance and delicious, you can add in some home-made pandan juice for a superb and natural jade green colour.

When it comes to steamed cake it might look rather easy compared to those bake version but for some of us this might not be the case. I have received a few emails regarding on the "steamed cake" recipe(s)(read more HERE) that they have tried a few times following the recipe(s) to dot and yet they cannot achieve the desire outcome like what is mention on the blog post. Friendly speaking I have failed at least twice while testing out the recipe(s) before I could perfect them with the right texture and outlook too.

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

I am sure you can easily find this common sweet soup available at most dessert stalls in Singapore. But are you willing to pay for the price ranging from S$1.20 - S$2.50 just for a bowl of Sweet Potato Soup - 番薯汤 similar to this?

In fact you can cook this quick and easy sweet soup anytime of the day at your own comfort zone with just minimum ingredients required. But before you starts you have to take note of some tips to make it taste just as good as what you had from those dessert stalls.

The key point of this dessert is to control the sweetness of the soup and texture of the sweet potatoes. The soup base cannot be too bland or too sweet and as for the sweet potato it must not be overcooked or else it will be too soft and affect the overall taste of this dessert. And to enhance the taste of the soup, you can also add in a few slices of ginger and some dried longan for that extra spicy taste and fragrant.

1. Bring 1.8 litres of water to boil together with pandan leaves and ginger slices for about 3 minutes.

2. Add in all the potatoes and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until soft.

3. Lastly add cane sugar and stir till dissolved.

4. Remove from heat, ladle into serving bowl and serve warm.

I simply adore this sweet potato dessert which brings back a lot of my wonderful childhood memories where my mum and I used to patron a dessert stall outside the cinema area where we used to visit after our show for late night supper.

Tuesday, 3 May 2011

Bobo (Bubur in Malay) Cha Cha is a popular Nyonya dessert make of coconut milk together with sweet potatoes, yam(taro) and colourful tapioca cubes.You can eat this dessert either warm or cold with shaved ice and they taste wonderful with a mixture of texture from the sweet potatoes and chewy tapioca cubes with luxury coconut milk base.

There are a few methods on cooking this Bobo Cha Cha dessert where you can put all the mixture together and simmer till cooked or steamed the sweet potato mixture separately while preparing the coconut soup base.

1. Prepare a pot of water and bring it to boil, add in the colourful tapioca flour cube, simmer over medium heat(stir on and off to prevent them from sticking to each other) till they float to the surface.

2. When they became translucent and cooked, drain well and transfer them into a bowl of cold water. Set aside.

3. Bring 1 litre of water to boil over medium heat, add in pandan leaves and simmer for about 5 - 7 minutes.

*4. At the meantime, rinse the sweet potato and taro cubes in two rounds before adding it into the prepared pandan water.

Friday, 15 April 2011

I have being using Purple Sweet Potato to try out a few recipes in this blog such as "Purple Sweet Potato Mantou - 紫番薯馒头", "Purple Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake" and "Assorted Sweet Potato Huat Kueh". These Purple Sweet Potato is richly nutritious as they are fat-free and low in calories, high in fiber and great for people who are carbohydrate sensitive and most importantly it is loaded with antioxidants.
In this post I am using some steamed purple sweet potato as the filling for the Steamed Milk With Egg Whites dessert. Normally you can find this Steamed Milk With Egg White custard at most of the Hong Kong Style Dessert Stalls which served without any fillings in it. But for my version I choose to add in some purple sweet potato to which has a very lovey purple colour that contrast well with the white milk custard.

2. Gently beat the egg whites till a bit frosty. Sieved it over a fine sieve into the milk mixture.

3. Give it a few stir using a fork or chopstick to mix well.

4. Place 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of mashed purple sweet potato into each rice bowl (about 250 - 300ml) and use the back of a spoon gently press and spread out the sweet potato evenly in the bowl.

5. Next slowly sift the milk mixture into each bowl. Wrapped it with clear-wrap.

6. Steam over medium heat for 8 minutes, open the clear wrap, add in a few pieces of the reserve sweet potato cubes and ginkgo nuts and continue to steam on medium heat for another 1 - 1 1/2 minutes till slightly firm.

TIPS:

1. You can either steamed the sweet potato over medium heat on stove for 8 - 10 minutes; OR

2. Place sweet potato cubes in a microwave safe bowl together with 1 tablespoon of water and cook on HIGH for 3 - 4 minutes. Give it a quick stir every 1 minute to make sure that the sweet potato cubes are evenly cooked.

If you cannot get hold of purple sweet potato over at your side, you can always mix and match to replace the fillings with whatever you preferred. Here I have another sample using mashed pumpkin for the fillings or you can even add in cream corn like one of my friend, Joyce did.

2. Gently beat the egg whites till a bit frosty. Sieved it over a fine sieve into the milk mixture.

3. Give it a few stir using a fork or chopstick to mix well.

4. Place 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of mashed pumpkin into the rice bowl (about 250 - 300ml) and use the back of a spoon gently press and spread out the sweet potato evenly in the bowl.

5. Next slowly sift the milk mixture into each bowl. Wrapped it with clear-wrap.

6. Steam over medium heat for 8 minutes, open the clear wrap, add in a some mashed pumpkin paste, wolfberries and continue to steam on medium heat for another 1 - 1 1/2 minutes till slightly firm.

If you don't like to have any extra fillings, you can always make it PLAIN using just egg whites and fresh milk. And I am sure you will love that smooth and silky texture of the healthy quick and easy dessert. Do share with me your view if you do try out this recipe and what are some other fillings that you could add in.

Surprised to know about this Steamed Milk With Egg Whites and Purple Sweet Potato(Chinese version) being mentioned on 20th April 2011, MyPaper through one of the blog readers.

P/s: Another "Steamed Milk With Egg Whites and Mashed Pumpkin" recipe included plus mentioned of this recipe on 20th April 2011, MyPaper too.

Thursday, 11 November 2010

It's tea time again! These few days I saw quite a number of blogger friends posting similar chiffon cake recipes range from Purple Sweet Potato, Green Tea with Azuki Bean, Spinach Chiffon, Pistachio & Raspberry and etc. And since I have some purple sweet potato paste leftover in the fridge after making our favourite Mantou(馒头), I decided to use the it to make a chiffon cake. As I have run of purple sweet potato, I have no choice but to mix in some orange sweet potato cubes instead. So does this look savory to you with those "orange" cubes popping out from the top of the chiffon cake. From far you might mistook it with either pumpkin or carrot cubes too. With this bright orange cubes, it some how or rather makes me feel like baking a Carrot Chiffon Cake one of these day.

Here shows the cross-section of the Purple Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake where you can see a better view of the orange sweet potato cubes popping out in between the slices. And each slices of the cake has a lovely sweet potato taste and sweetness as well as a light aroma from the coconut milk used.

Here are some of the ingredients and steps for making this Purple Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake.

Method:
1. Wash and remove the skin of the purple sweet potato then cut it into cubes, steam for about 15 minutes or more over medium heat till soften, mashed it with folks while hot.
2. Transfer the mashed sweet potato into a big mixing bowl, slowly whisk in the coconut milk till it form a paste.
3. Add in egg yolks, 20g sugar and give it a quick stir using a balloon whisk before adding oil and water in sequence until everything is well combined.
4. Next slowly whisk in the sieved flour into the egg mixture till no trace of flour is found.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 degree.
6. Beat egg whites and 1/3 of the 50g caster sugar with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add in another 1/3 of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until almost soft peaks form then add in the last 1/3 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. (the whole process takes about less than 5 minutes)
7. Use a balloon whisk to whisk in the stiff egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, with the 1st addition to incorporate the whites into the yolk mixture till combined leaving no trace of whites.
8. Next add in the 2nd and 3rd addition of whites using the balloon whisk in a gentle manner in order not to knock off the air in the whites, just fold till no trace of whites and the mixture are well combined.
9. Lastly stir in 3/4 of the prepared sweet potato cubes into batter, lift up the bowl to height, pour the mixture into the tube pan and tap the pan once or twice on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
10. Scatter the remaining sweet potato cubes on top of the batter, bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or when the surfaces turns golden brown. (you can insert a skewer into the centre and test if it comes out clean)
11. Remove it from the oven and invert the pan immediately to let it rest on top of a cup. Make sure it cool completely before unmould.
12. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife(i use a small rubber saptula) around the inside of the pan and the center core.
13. Release the cake and run the knife/spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake.
14. Cut into serving size and serve with a cup of tea or coffee

Note:
~ You can replace the coconut milk with fresh milk.

You can use either purple sweet potato or some orange sweet potato for better colour effect. For a quick way to get your sweet potato soften you can try the method below:-

Method:
1. Wash, remove the skin of the sweet potato and cut them into small cubes shown above.
2. Mix the sweet potato cubes with water together in a heatproof bowl.
3. Microwave the mixture on High for 2.5 minutes, pause and give it a quick stir every 1 minute till the cubes are soften.
4. Remove from microwave and let it cool off before coating them lightly with some cake flour so that they would not sink into the bottom of the batter.

This Chiffon is great with its light, airy and spongy texture together with some extra bits of sweet potato cubes to give some contrast effect. But there is one thing that I still cannot figure out why my purple sweet potato chiffon cake is kind of "greyish" in colour instead of brighter purple obtain from the mashed purple sweet potato :( Guess that this outcome proof the reason of why I didn't score well in my chemistry during school days :p

After making all these chiffon cakes shown using this similar recipes which I often modify to suit the ingredients I begin to love this versatile recipe that can be trusted without much setback. For some readers, chiffon cake might seen very hard to success due to the separate handling of egg yolks and whites but I can assured you that this recipe definitely work well for all conditions. Perhaps if you are keen you can always try out using a smaller tin like 17cm (7") which requires about 3 - 4 eggs depending on the recipe.

If you have any good suggestions or interesting Chiffon Cake combination of ingredients do share with us so that we can explore more on these new flavour too :) And now I am submitting this post to "Aspiring Bakers #1: Chiffon Cakes (Nov 2010)", hosted by Small Small Baker at this link HERE.

Monday, 8 November 2010

Mantou(馒头) often referred to as Chinese steamed bun or bread is a kind of traditional steamed bun origin from China. It is normally made with wheat flour, water and leavening agents that leaves it with soft and fluffy texture. But in modern days now, there are a lot of ready-made frozen mantou that comes in different varieties and flavours which you can purchase from the supermarkets.
But for us, we still prefer to make our own mantou using fresh ingredients and consume it straight from the steamer rack while it is still hot. We love the taste of the freshly homemade mantou where we could add in more ingredients such as pumpkin, dried fruits, sweet potato and etc to make it more tasty and vibrant in colour to enhance the taste and at the same time attracts kids’ attention too.

For this recipe, I am using some mashed Purple Sweet Potato to make this mantou which gives it a very lovely natural Pinkish-purple colour which you can see from the photos. Purple Sweet Potatoes are richly nutritious as they are fat-free and low in calories, high in fiber and great for people who are carbohydrate sensitive and most importantly it is loaded with antioxidants.

These are the dry ingredients and steps on how to make the mantou dough using mashed sweet potato:-

Method:
1. Add dry yeast into the lukewarm water and give it a quick stir, set aside for about 5 minutes till bubbles appeared.
2. Sift plain flour and baking powder together in a big bowl with the caster sugar till combined.
3. Next slowly add in yeast water into the flour mixture and stir using a metal spoon or clean hand and follow by the mashed sweet potato till it forms soft dough.
4. Add in oil and give the dough a quick knead till well combine or till dough does not stick to your hand.
5. Set the dough aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl, covered with cling wrap and let it proof for about 20 minutes till the dough became slightly bigger.
6. Knead proof dough on a lightly floured work surface for a few second, flatten and roll into a rectangular shape, sprinkle some black sesame seeds on it, roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape.
7. Repeat the process once or twice depends on your preference.
8. Roll the final dough into oblong shape, cut them into equal portions and coat the top of each slice of mantou with some extra black sesame seeds.
9. Place each shaped mantou on the steamer rack with greaseproof paper below and rest for another 10 minutes.
10. Sprinkle some water on the mantou before placing the steamer rack into the pot of boiling water and steam them over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes. (depending on the size of the mantou)
11. When done, removed and served hot/warm.

Note:

~ Lukewarm is about 36 - 37 degree Celsius

~ Rinse and cut the sweet potato into chunks, steam it over medium heat till soft (about 10 - 15 minutes), removed from heat and mashed it into paste form while hot and set aside for later use.

Indeed homemade Mantou is something quite quick and easy if you could get the hand out of it. Moreover you could also mix and match with different ingredients according to your own preference and this can be consider as a healthy snacks for both the adults and kids too. Sometime I would also make a bigger portion and keep some of it in the freezer so that I could re-heat/re-steam them for a quick snack anytime we feel like having our favourite mantou.

Sunday, 25 April 2010

During my recent trip to Taiwan, almost every morning we can find some freshly made Mantou in our breakfast menu. In Taiwan, most of their breakfast dishes are Mantou, Porridge with preserved vegetables like caixin, bamboo shoot, salted egg and etc. And other than Mantou, you can also find their famous Baked Golden Sweet Potato in some shops or street market. So for last weekend, I decided to combine some orange flesh sweet potato with the Japanese sweet potato that can be easily found in any supermarket. This Mantou will give you two different textures, as I have shredded the orange flesh sweet potato as filling and combined the mashed Japanese Sweet Potato together with the flour ingredients.

Method:1. Sift the plain flour and baking powder together in a big bowl together with the caster sugar till combined.2. Remove the outer skin of the Japanese sweet potato, cut into small cubes (about 1cm) then rinse it with water and place in a microwave safe bowl together with 20ml of water and cook on High heat together with a cup of water for about 4 minutes. (Stop 1 minutes in between and give it a stir so that it will cook evenly)3. Use a fork or food masher to mash the sweet potato cubes to form a paste, set aside for later use.4. Add the dry yeast into the lukewarm water and give it a quick stir then set aside for about 5 minutes till bubbles appeared(refer to the picture above).5. Next slowly stir in the yeast water into the flour mixture and using a pair of chopstick then follow by the mashed pumpkin till it form a soft dough.6. Rub some oil on your hand then give the dough a quick knead till well combine.7. Set the dough aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl and let it proof for about 20 - 30 minutes so that the dough will raise slightly bigger.8. Knead proof dough on a lightly floured work surface for a few second, flatten and roll into a rectangular shape shown in the above photo, sprinkle some shredded orange flesh sweet potato on it, roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape.9. Repeat the process once or twice till the shredded sweet potato finished.10. Roll the final dough into oblong shape, cut them into equal portion.11. Place each shaped mantou on the steamer rack with greaseproof paper below it sprinkle the mantou with some water.12. Place the steamer rack in the boiling water and steam the mantou over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes. (depending on the size)13. When done, removed and served hot/warm.

Note:a) Lukewarm is about 36 - 37 degree Celsiusb) If the sweet potato dough is too dry, you can add about extra 5 - 10ml of water to knead the dough.c) You might need to cook the sweet potato for about 3 - 5 minutes more before it will be soften depend on the power of your microwave.

This is an interesting Mantou with dual sweet potato texture. So if you like sweet potato, do give this a try. I am sure you and your family will loves this healthy snack for a chance during tea-time or breakfast.

Sunday, 21 June 2009

Recently while blog hopping around, I saw a few of my favour foodblogs will into chiffon cake making. So I thought maybe I would also like to join in the fun of chiffon cake making. After much selection I decided to settle on this Sweet Potato & Sesame Chiffon Cake rather than our usual local Pandan Chiffon Cake. Chiffon cake making was rather a challenge for me because this is only my 2nd time I try making it after the 1st bake of Lemon Poppy Seeds Chiffon Cake some time ago in August 2008. Personally I love the taste and texture of chiffon cake but then the process and tales of making it put me on hesitation. I am so scare that it doesn't raise up nicely, the inner part is not properly cook while the outer layer is burnt and etc. But after reading all the recent chiffon cakes posts, I am once again tempted to give a try on this recipe. The recipe is rather easy to follow as long as you get the steps of whisking and folding the egg white in the correct sequence.

Method:1.Wash and brush the outer skin of the sweet potato then steam it over a rack for about 20 - 30 minutes depend on the thickness. (the sweet potato is cooked through when the skewer or toothpick is able to pierce through without difficulty)2. Cut the cooked sweet potato into 0.5cm thickness slices then peel off the skin and cut into small cubes, set aside for later use.3. Separate the egg yolk and white into two separate mixing bowls. (carefully do not leave any trace of egg yolk in the egg whites mixture) then use a balloon whisk to whisk the egg yolk and brown sugar(add in 3 separate additions) till thick and sticky.4. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continue to whisk at the same time then follow by the water till the mixture is well combined.5. Add the sifted flour into the egg mixture and continue to whisk till the flour is fully incorporated into the batter.6. Next stir in the sweet potato cubes and sesame seeds using a spatula till combined.7. Use a kitchen paper towel to wipe off the oil from the cup then grease the tube-pan lightly with the oil and set aside for later use.8. Preheat the oven to 180 degree.9. Beat egg whites and 1/3 of the caster sugar with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Then add in another 1/3 of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until almost soft peaks form then add in the last 1/3 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. (the whole process takes about less than 5 minutes)10. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, with the 1st addition using the balloon whisk to incorporate it into the yolk mixture till combine without trace of whites.11. Next fold in the 2nd and 3rd addition of whites using the balloon whisk in a gentle manner in order not to knock off the air in the while, just fold till no trace of white and the mixture are well combined.12. Before pouring the mixture to the greased pan, use a spatula to give a final stir to make sure there is no flour or egg white mixture at the bottom of the mixing bowl.13. Lift up the bowl to height, then pour the mixture into the pan and tap the pan 2 - 3 times on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.14. Baked the cake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or when the surfaces turns golden brown. (you can insert a skewer into the centre and test if it comes out clean)15. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately and let it rest on top of a cup. Let it cool completely before unmould.16. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife(i use a small rubber saptula) around the inside of the pan and the center core.17. Release the cake and run the knife/spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake.18. Cut into serving size and serve with a cup of tea or coffee.

Notes:a) I used the purple skin type of Japanese Sweet Potato rather then the local orange flesh type.b) To test whether your beaten egg white is of stiff peak form, turn mixing bowl upside down, the white will remain without falling.c) Preheat the oven half way through while whisking the egg whites so that the oven temperature will be ready and not over heated when you have all the mixture done and ready to bake.

We really love this chiffon cake which taste light and fragrant compare to the normal pandan cake that we used to have. The addition of the steam sweet potato cubes and black sesame seeds also add some extra texture it. Those whom I share this cake with all love it taste and texture because they find it so healthy without the use of butter and normal coconut milk.

Sunday, 12 August 2007

Get to know this delicious "Huat Kueh" from my boss wife Veron. When I first taste it, I knew that I am going to do a batch of this. The texture is so moist and soft which is very different from those traditional huat kueh that we used to eat. Even if it is left in room temperature for a day or in the fridge it still taste soft and moist. This huat kueh doesn't required any yeast or baking powder and yet, but it can yet achieve the soft and fluffy texture.

For my version, I added assorted Sweet Potato instead of one type. I love vibrant colours for my food and since I am able to find 3 different types of sweet potato at the stall, I might as well give it a try. As you know the purple sweet potato had a very nice colour and it's rather kind of saltish taste which balance off the sweetness of the huat kueh and the orange sweet potato.

I also add in the yellowish Japanese Sweet Potato which is fragrant and great in texture. Besides starch, sweet potatoes are RICH in dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. Despite the name "sweet", it is actually a good food for diabetics, as preliminary studies on animals have revealed that it helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and to lower insulin resistance. For those who loves sweet potatoes you might want to give this recipe a try. It's very easy, just mix, stir, pour and steam.

Methods:1. Wash and steam the sweet potatoes until soft, peel off the skin and use a fork or finger to roughly break into pieces then set aside to cool.2. While steaming the sweet potato, place the 50ml of water and gula malaka(if possible break it into pieces so that it will melt easily) in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until the gula malaka is completely dissolved into sugar syrup.3. Set aside for it to cool before using.4. Pour the self-raising flour into a big mixing bowl, then make a well in the center and pour in the coconut milk and use a balloon whisk to whisk a few times before adding in the egg.5. Kept on whisk until the egg is incorporate into the batter then pour in the gula malaka syrup and whisk well.6. The mixture will be sort of like a pancake batter, lastly add in the sweet potato pieces(reservesome for the topping) and use a spatula to stir till combined.7. Spoon the mixture into a aluminium cup(100ml) then top with some extra sweet potatoes and steam over medium/high(depending on the steamer that you use, I steam mine over medium heat on stove) heat for about 20 minutes.

Notes:a) You must wait for the water to BOIL 1st before placing the cup mixtures into the steam, and do not open the cover of the steam in between the steaming time or else the Huat Kueh will not have the "Open Mouth" effect.b) You can find fresh coconut milk in 250ml packet from most of the supermarket at the noodles/doufu sections.c) You can use either one type of sweet potato or assorted depend on your preference.d) The weight of the Gula Malaka is about 150g - 200g depending on the size that you purchased.(if is possible, strained the liquid after boiling to remove any big particulars or lumps in it)

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Cuisine Paradise is a Singapore base food blog featuring food recipes, food reviews and travelogues. Currently we have a collection of more than 800 tested and tried recipes from Asian Cuisines to Western Bakes.